SAD 63 posts its ‘findings’ on firing

HOLDEN, Maine — The SAD 63 board has posted its legal “findings of fact and conclusions” stemming from the July firing of Superintendent Louise Regan.

The material, posted on the SAD 63 Web site, says the board “lost confidence in Ms. Regan’s trustworthiness and has lost confidence in her ability to lead the district.”

The board and the SAD 63-CSD 8 joint board fired Regan on July 29. She had been on administrative leave since April pending the conclusion of an investigation into her conduct.

“This is our statement that the Board is making on how things transpired and how we came to our conclusion. It is now a public document and the public is more than welcome to take a copy of the document,” the posting says. The Web site is www.sad63.net.

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Draft minutes from the board’s September meeting say the document was prepared by board attorneys “in regard to the meeting we had on July 29, 2008 with Louise Regan and her attorneys.”

The seven conclusions include one that lists 19 issues or concerns.

Concerns over Regan’s conduct centered on her submitting a school consolidation letter of intent without board approval, school board meeting tapes that she reported stolen, her ordering that a controversial board meeting not be taped, and questions over changes she made to her contract, the conclusions say.

Holden Principal Dave Anderson has served as interim superintendent since Regan’s leave and subsequent firing. At the September meeting, the board formed a search committee for a new interim superintendent. After that meeting, Anderson said he felt he was being stretched thin by serving in both capacities.

“SAD 63’s legal counsel is working with CSD 8’s legal counsel to try and break away,” the September draft minutes say. “We do have a right to hire a superintendent for SAD 63 only. We have informed CSD 8 that we are going to do our own individual search for a superintendent.”

The two school units have shared the cost of a superintendent and central office staff for years, but part of the conclusions from Regan’s firing say the “joint board,” made up of members from both school boards, is not a legal entity and cannot hire a superintendent for both school units.

Bryan Dench, the SAD 63 board’s attorney, is scheduled to make a presentation next week. It is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, at Holbrook Middle School.

The investigation into two Maine Human Rights Commission complaints filed by Regan against SAD 63, claiming she was discriminated against and harassed for being a whistle-blower, have not been completed, a representative for the commission said Thursday.

No information about the complaints will be made public until they are completed, he said.